How to Cut a Rose
by Madelyne's Orchestra
Summary: Rose Levine's family has been massacred at the hands of Deatheaters. She has been labeled, and they will come to finish her off. Spending the summer at Hogwarts, she is not as safe as she imagines. Bad summary, sorry. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first published story, so I hope you like it. **

***** Disclaimer : I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS FIC OTHER THAN ROSE LEVINE AND THE PLOT LINE. ALL THE REST BELONGS TO J.K ROWLING *****

Rose Levine, that's my name. I'm home for the summer. On September first, I'm going to return to Hogwarts for my fifth year. But that was another two months from now. Now I'm at my house in Moscow. I had recently moved here two years ago, from London. But even though it's very far from Hogwarts, I still manage to catch the train departure at Kings Cross station every year.

I just got back from the grocery store, since I needed to get some supplies my mother asked for. As I approach the house, I hear my name being screamed. Someone was screaming my name. I stopped dead for a moment, and then one last painful scream could be heard from upstairs, a voice that sounded far too much like my brothers. As I turn the key and unlock the door with shaking hands, I hear a loud crack that sounds like someone disapparaiting.

I open the door, ready to run upstairs, but the scene I walk into stops me and freezes my very core. As I stare at the scene before me, I feel the blood drain from my face. The groceries fall to the floor, and scatter away from me. I see one of the oranges roll into a puddle of blood. There, on the white wall, is the dark mark, painted with a red substance that had a metallic smell to it. I could already guess what it was. Under it is the word "mudblood" written in the same red liquid. I take several steps forward, and enter the kitchen. I had to find my parents and my little brother. "Mom! Dad! Benny!" I scream. "Where are they?" I thought, as I stumble into the living room, "Mom? Da-", my words falter. There on the couch lay my mother's torn and mangled body, unmoving. A few feet away, the body of my father lay on the ground. His lifeless green eyes stared back at the identical pair I owned. "No, no, no, no, no" I mumbled to myself. "NO!". I felt fury and the deepest sorrow sink into my very core. How did this happen? Who did this? Where is Benny? As much as I wanted to fall to the ground and weep for the loss of my beloved parents, I had to find Benny. I need to know if he is okay, maybe they forgot him, maybe he was hiding. Some rational part of me knows this was not the case, but I threw that part of me against a wall in my mind.

I run up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and tripping on the last one. I heave myself up as I hear voices and a few "pops" coming from my brother's room, and slowly walk towards it. As I open the door I see that blood litters the floor. I look up and gaze at the figure clad in black billowing robes, with a wand in their hand and a mask to their face. I immediately recognize the figure as Lucius Malfoy. The blond hair and grey eyes were a dead give-away. Panic shoots through me as I realize the situation. Then anger boils through my body as I scream "How could you Lucius! He was a child! They were innocent!". He smiles to me, and Sais "How nice of you to join us, Miss Levine. I was just about to leave and join the others to rejoice, but now I see there's one more problem I must get rid of before I go" and lifts his wand at me. Panic retakes the stand alongside fear as he sais "How about some fun first?" and narrow his eyes and he mutters "Crucio".

Pains like nothing I've ever felt shoots through every morsel of tissue and bone of my body. It starts from my bones and reaches everywhere from my eyes to my fingers. I fall to the floor as a scream irrupts from my throat. I twist and turn on myself, trying to rid my body of this pain. I turn away from him and face Benny's closet only to see his little form huddled unmoving in the very back of the closet. No, he's left me as well. Tears from my pain and from my loss fall down my cheeks as more screams leave my mouth. He stops a moment before saying the curse again and I belt out more screams.

I hear a whooshing sound coming from downstairs. I can hear people talking as the curse is lifted from me. I stop my scream at last, and Lucius looks at the door to the room and mutters "dammit" and points his wand at my forearm and mutters a spell that makes my arm burn. "You have been labelled now, my dear, and I will find you one day, to rid the wizarding world of mudblood scum like you." he said as he raised his wand, and he disapparates away into oblivion. I then here someone, a woman, says "Oh lord, Albus! Look at this. The poor people are-"she chokes back a sob as she hears sounds from the room I'm in. It sounded like Professor McGonagall. I try my best to scream their names, to try and let them know that they weren't too late, that I was here, but nothing but a gargled sob leaves my mouth as I stare at the closet. "I believe we might not be too late, Albus" Sais the velvet voice that belongs to no one but Severus Snape.

I hear three sets of footsteps rush up the stairs until they reached the room in which I was slowly crawling to my brother's body. McGonagall's face is the first I see through my watery eyes, then Dumbledore's appeared, and then finally Severus's. They all stare at me in shock, and Professor McGonagall gives out a low sob as her eyes look over the scene. I keep crawling on my hands and knees, out of breath and sobbing, and I grab my brother's limp form from the closet he had been hiding in.

No, how could they kill and innocent child? He was only five years old. Five years old! He had screamed for my help, but I had not answered. "Benny, no, Ben no no, not you to" I whisper to his newly deaf ears. A faint sob builds up in my chest. They were all dead, my mom, my dad and my only sibling, gone. I look at him, and his face remained unmarred by all. He looked asleep like this. His beautiful eyes were closed, but I know that if they were open, they would be as grey as smoke. His little pink lips were slightly parted, and his cheeks were a little rosy. "Come on buddy, wake up. You need to wake up. For me Ben, please" I plead, to no avail. Tears fall on his body as I cradle him in my arms, running my fingers in his hair. "Your just asleep, all you need to do is wake up, I love you Ben, come on" I say. I have never felt so alone. I stare at my Professor's and say:

"Help, you need to help him! He's asleep, but he won't wake up! Please help my brother! Please!" I wail at them.

"Ben, wake up buddy, your okay. Mommy would want you to wake up" I say to him. I flatten his hair once more, and gently shake his little body.

"I don't believe your brother is going to wake up, dear one" whispered Dumbledore, whilst the other two could do nothing but stare at the scene.

"No, no, no no no no" I said, this seemed to be my word of the night. "He can't be dead, he's only five…..only five…." I whisper.

"Professor McGonagall, I would ask you to floo back to Hogwarts and ask the elves to prepare an extra room for Miss Levine. Severus, please escort Rose back down the stairs and into the kitchen, and make sure she is well. Then floo back to my office at Hogwarts, and await my arrival. I must apparate to the ministry" said Dumbledore.

McGonagall left the room silently, and I heard her go down the stairs, seconds later a whooshing sound could be heard from the fire place.

Professor Snape then moved forward and attempted to lift me up. "No, I can't leave him! I can't" I say to him, as I try and pry his hands off of my arms. "There is nothing you can do for him now" he says to me in a soft voice. "You must let him go now, so he can sleep in peace" he says in the same tone. Slowly, slowly my hands release my brother. My hand touch's his cheek one last time, and I wipe the tears that had fallen from my eyes off of his skin. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to protect you like I should have, little brother, so sorry…" I gently whisper to him, and I push back some of his hair out of his face. I try and memorize his features; his porcelain skin, thick black lash's, little pink, heart shaped lips, and his black hair. Professor Snape's hands are back on my arms, gently prying mine off of my brother's. I slowly let Professor Snape lift me up, supporting most of my weight. I stand to his left, and his left arm is around me, holding onto my elbow, and his other is holding my right arm. Dumbledore disappartes with a loud "crack", and the sounds startles me so that I yelp out loud.

I leave my brothers room, feeling far too sorrowful to even look at his little form anymore. I stumble down the stairs taking them one at a time, and as I descend, tears continue a decent of their own down my cheeks. Getting a better look at the house from my vantage point, I can see that some vases are smashed and lay broken in pieces. Some couches and tables are overturned, and a small fire is shimmering at the bottom of the stairs. With a flick of his wand, Professor Snape makes the fire vanish.

As we pass by the living room, which leads to the kitchen, I stop and look over the scene once more. "Mom…." I say, hoping she would stir, or give any sign of life. Seeing this is impossible, I drag my stare from her to my father. "Daddy….." I whisper and my voice shakes, but still his eyes held no sign of resurrection. Professor Snape merely said: "come" and pulls me toward the kitchen.

He walks me a few more steps and leads me to the table. I sit on the chair, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted; all the while tears keep a steady flow down my cheeks. The vibrant red word "Mudblood" is silently screaming at me, and so I look across the table and remember times when we used to eat here as a family.

I faintly realize that Professor is trying to talk to me, because I can see his lips moving, but I can hear no sound from them. All I see are memories of my mother and father cooking, laughing, living. My brother trying to get on his chair, telling me of his days events and discoveries. Yes, I remember him, "Rose look at me, look at me" he would say. Yes I could see him perfectly actually, like he was right in front of me. His black hair ruffled. "Look at me, Miss Levine, can you hear me" said Ben. Miss Levine? Why would Benny call me that? Then Benny's black hair grew to chin length, and he was wearing black billowing robes. Benny suddenly became the tall and sinuous form of Professor Snape. "Miss Levine, can you hear me"? he said. "I….I….yes…s-sorry….just got lost….lost in thought…" I said. Professor Snape looks me over once more, and I think I saw a flash of sympathy in his eyes, but then it was gone. His eyes remained emotionless, but did not hold the scowl that he normally wore in class. "Are you okay? Physically, are you hurt?" he says. His eyes look over my face and body, but not in a perverted way. I know he's looking for signs of injury. "No, no physically I'm not hurt….it's not my blood…it's….theirs" I say.

As I look down, I noticed my jeans were soaked in blood as were my hands. Then I notice my left forearm has something on it. I turn it so that I can see the underside of it and Professor quickly grabs my arm. "When did you get this?" He asked me in a rush, losing his cool demeanour very fast. "I-uh it was Lucius Malfoy, atleast I think it was, and h-he muttered a spell and then I just felt my arm burn" was what I said in a rush, trying to justify myself. He furrowed his brow, and I looked away, and stared at my arm.

A new sort of mark adorned it, one that looked very similar to the dark mark, only simpler and very distorted and dark. "What does this mean?" I asked him in a whisper. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose and let go of my arm. "This means things get a lot more complicated", and then simply said "Very well, come, we must get to Hogwarts". For the second time that day, he grabs my elbow and lifts me up. I know I looked hopeless and pathetic, but honestly, I was far too tired and weary to care. We re-enter the living room, and I can't see my parents because Snape's body is in the way, whether he did this on purpose or by accident I don't know, but I was thankful for it. We both step into the fire place, he grabs a pinch of green powder from the mantel place, and sais "Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts" and lets the powder fall.

**A/N: So feel free to comment if you want. You can give me suggestions about the plot line and such. All forms of criticism is welcome, just keep it polite :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so I noticed that I only got three hits for my first chapter, and figured I should at least post a second chapter to keep em' coming. Just so you all know, I've written more that 20,000 words to this story, but I'm slowly updating, because the story is getting fixed and re-arranged, because I decided I didn't like some of the scenes I wrote. Enjoy :)**

***** DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, ALL THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO J.K ROWLING, OTHER THAN ROSE LEVINE AND THE PLOT LINE. *** **

Suddenly, the traumatic scenes of my home disappear and I see fire places whirl past me as the green fire tickles and licks my skin. We come to a stand-still and step out of the fireplace. To my left, I see a phoenix, and the exit, and to my right I see Dumbledore's study. "Sit" said Professor Snape, motioning to a chair opposite of Dumbledore's beautiful carved desk. I do as he said and sit in the chair. I stare into space for a few moments, trying to process what has happened. Just this morning we were all eating breakfast together as I told my parents of all the wonders of my school. I had told Ben about flying on a broom, and that one day he would to. He made me promise he would get to. I had promised him he would. He wouldn't ever get to now. I broke my promise.

I was startled out of my reverie as Professor Snape come up next to me as silent as the shadows. I jumped in the chair out of fright, and my heart starts pounding. I try and calm myself, but to no avail. "You should drink some water" he said silently as he slowly hands me a goblet filled with water. I reach to grab the goblet, and I notice my hands are shaking. I know he noticed, but what am I to do? "Thank you" I whisper, and bring the goblet to my lips. As the water enters my mouth, I realize how dry my mouth had been. I take my first sip, and feel too nauseous to even think about swallowing another mouthful. I decide to simply hold the goblet in my hands.

Moments pass, and suddenly and whooshing sounds comes from the fireplace and Dumbledore steps out with Professor McGonagall. Of course, I yet again, jumped at the sound, and spilt water on my jeans. Dumbledore gives me a grave look as he said "The ministry will take care of the muggle officials. Your personal items are already awaiting you in your dorm. Everything you wish to keep from your home will be stored in your Gringotts volt." I started to speak up, but he lifted his hand and continued, "As for your lodging, you will remain at Hogwarts for the rest of the summer. You will attend every breakfast, lunch and supper, and school rules still apply. Other than that, my dear, you are free to do as you please." He finished.

I nod in consent, and Professor McGonagall says "the other Professors are going to be here soon." As she says this, Madame Hooch, Professor Sprout and Professor Binns walk into the room in a rush talking among themselves but quieted as they took in the scene.

"Now, Miss Levine, what I am about to ask you is going to be difficult, but we need you to explain to us what happened before our arrival" said Professor Dumbledore, as all their eyes bore onto me. What? They wanted me to explain? I could barely make sense of it all myself, and they want the full story. I started to fidget in my seat, and my eyes weld up with tears but I held them back as I scratched the new mark that was on my left forearm.

"Go on dear" said Professor McGonagall slightly impatiently. "W-well I got home, and my p-parents were – "I choked on a sob, and continued " – dead, and my mother was so torn and ripped and full of blood" I said and almost gagged. "I went up the s-stairs, and went to see if my brother was –" I was visualizing it all in my mind, replaying the horrific scenes in my mind unwillingly, " – alive, and that's when I saw a figure clad all in black". I tried shaking my head to clear it. I just didn't wish to speak about this.

"What else happened! Keep going" said Professor Binns rudely, clearly distraught about the whole event. He had always been most afraid of events tied to Voldemort.

"I yelled at h-him, and called him out saying he w-was Lucius Malfoy. Uh, he had the blond hair and grey eyes." I said, trying to appease their thirst for my sorrowful knowledge. I kept my insisting motions, trying to get out of my seat and run, but knowing I couldn't.

"Yes, and?" said Madame Hooch sympathetically.

"He, he said a few things then used the cruciatus curse on me a few times." I added, and I shuddered and twitched a little recalling the event quit clearly.

"What?" yelled Professor Sprout.

"Well, I couldn't protect myself, I had no wand! And-and my brother was just there, lying limp in the closet" I said and added " and then you all arrived" I motioned to Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape, "and he marked my arm and disapparated" I concluded, almost sobbing in my chair, still holding back that barrier of tears threatening to overflow.

They all started arguing about one thing or another. Only Professor Snape kept cool and waited. Then, amidst all the chaos, Professor Sprout kept pointing at my arm and talking about how I was branded and they would come for me. All of them yelling, talking about my dead mother, father and brother. All of them asking me questions all at once, demanding that I refine a detail here, elaborate there and explain, explain and explain. I felt like it was all closing in on me, I couldn't breathe and finally I said "Enough!" in a shaking but firm voice, "enough" I added in a smaller voice. That quieted them, and then I just said "You've had your explanation".

As I had already answered all of their questions, I started to get up and leave. "I would ask you to go and pay Madame Pomfrey a visit before going to you room, Miss Levine" said Dumbledore. I simply nodded and he turned his gaze on Professor Snape and said "Severus, if you would be so kind as to accompany Miss Levine to the hospital wing, I would not wish more harm to be bestowed upon her tonight". Severus nodded at him, and turned to lead the way out of the study. I "thanked" Dumbledore and turned to leave as all the eyes of the portraits on the walls and the teachers followed me, silently whispering amongst themselves.

I descended the stairs while Severus lead the way to the hospital wing, but stopped short, and put one hand on the wall to steady myself. I let the sob I had been holding out and bent over as tears fell down my face at last. Putting my back against the wall, I slid down and sat on the floor, crying big tears. I heard a sigh from Professor Snape and heard his footsteps as he got closer.

"How can they be so greedy for knowledge that I don't want to give?" I asked him through my tears.

"Because fear of the unknown is one of mans greatest faults." He said as he grabbed me by my elbows and lifted me up. "Now come, I need to bring you to Madame Pompfrey."

I followed him to the hospital wing, slowly.

As I replayed the scenes of the night in my head, I couldn't help but feel very nauseous. Not only was the scene at my house bloody, but I can perfectly recall having seen some organs lying about in the living room, with my parents' bodies laying open, as if on a scientific display.

Professor Snape reached the hospital wing, and waited for me to walk past him as he stood in the doorway. As I stood next to him in the doorway feeling very clammy, I looked up into his eyes. In my head, I saw my mother's mangled body, all bloody. I started felling very dizzy, and started to sway. He gave me an odd look, almost like concern, and grabbed hold of me. I shook my head, and tried to release his hold on me. I managed to do so, and turned in the hall, bent over and vomited on the ground. I did so a second time, and on the third, I was dry heaving. Madame Pompfrey finally made an appearance as Professor Snape grabbed hold of me. "You poor child, come now, into a bed you go!" she said. I walked into the familiar room and stumbled over my feet a few times, she walked really fast this lady, I thought.

I could see through the windows that lined the walls in the room. A faint light from the moon was shining through, and cast a pale glow to everything in the room. As Madame Pompfrey made me sit on the bed, she began her analysis of my condition. During this time, I contended myself simply by staring out of the nearest window and counting the stars. Once I had counted nineteen, she had finished all the necessary charms, spells and procedures to give me my finale diagnosis.

Thinking she was going to inform me, I awaited for her verdict, but it never came. Instead, she went over to Professor Snape, who, as I failed to notice, had been standing in the corner of the room watching. She began to murmur to him, informing him of my condition. What, did she think I was too young to know of my own health? They continued whispering out of earshot, and the longer this lasted, the more aggravated I became. At last, it became too much. They weren't even talking to me, and I felt like I was being patronized. "Madame Pompfrey, why can't you just inform me of my state to my face?" I asked as politely as possible. She glanced at me and put on a very condescending smile and said "shush dear, just try and get some sleep" and turned back to Professor Snape.

All the day's events came crashing into me, and my sorrow turned to anger. My blood boiled, and finally I said "Jesus! I'm not a child! I think I have every right to know about something if it concerns my own health! Don't patronize me!" My chest heaved, and I could hear my words echoing faintly in the halls.

The stillness that followed my shouts was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Of course, Professor Snape remained impassive, but Madame Pompfrey looked genuinely startled. All flustered, she glanced at Professor Snape, who nodded, and then rested her eyes on me. "Very well, if that is what you wish", she said. "You're in severe shock, almost catatonic, and your blood pressure is through the roof" she said. Looking at the ground then at me again, she added; "Your situational awareness is very poor, and the effects of the cruciatus curse are severe, and you'll have many muscle aches for a while, but other than that, you should be okay…with time".

She then went to a cupboard and opened it. Inside I could just see little vials thanks to the moonlight. I heard the tinkling of glass, and she closed the cupboard with two potions. She approached me very stoically, I don't think she appreciated my little outburst, and handed me the two vials. "The green one is a calming drought. Drink it now. The second is a mild sleeping drought. Take it before you go to bed". With that she placed a hand on my cheek, and said "Sleep well" in a very motherly way. Tears welled in my eyes as I realized how much I wanted my mother right now. But I would not cry. I could do that tonight.

I nodded and left the hospital wing, looking at the floor the whole time. As I rounded the corner, I absentmindedly noticed that my stomachs contents were no longer on the floor.

I kept a steady pace, going to the slytherin common room. I could hear Professor Snape behind walking behind me. Frankly, I had seen enough people tonight and I simply wanted to be alone. It was eerily quiet in the castle, something I couldn't fail to notice, especially with no other student living in it. My and Snape's footsteps echoed off the walls, breaking the silence quite painfully. Finally, once I got inside the common room, I sat on one of the couches. I know professor Snape had gone to his own chambers and for that I was grateful. I should have thanked him. "You will tomorrow" I thought to myself.

**A/N: So that's chapter 2. I hoped you liked it. As I've said before, I would love it if you reviewed the story, because I seriously need to know what your opinions are. All forms of criticism are welcome, just keep it courteous please :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! Ok, so here is Chapter 3. It's not very long, but it will do. I hope you like it. Just wanted to let you know, I don't have a beta, so if you spot mistakes, it's my fault and I'm sorry! **

***** DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING OTHER THAN ROSE LEVINE AND THE PLOT LINE, THE REST BELONGS TO J.K ROWLING. *****

Looking around the common room, I noticed it was very dark, but the moon shone through the lake, casting green glows everywhere. It was beautiful. I watched a little while longer, but soon the shadows seemed to move in my imagination. Before my hallucinations could get to out of hand, I went to my dorm room.

Normally, it would be occupied by four other girls, but for the rest of the summer, it was just me. As Dumbledore had said, my personal things such as my trunk, wand, guitar and owl were there, at the foot of my bed. My owl was a gorgeous barn owl. Her name was Moskva, which is how you say "Moscow" in Russian. I set her out of her cage, and she nipped my finger affectionately. I walked over to the window, opened it, and let her fly into the night. The breeze that came in was welcoming.

I left the window open and then I went and picked up my wand. It was fifteen inches long. Its core was a veela hair. I held it in my hand. The handle was intricately carved, but it was elegant, and was cherry wood. The rest was long and slightly narrow, and was ebony black. It felt good to hold it. At least I had some control now. I set it down, and decided it was time to change.

I got out of my bloody attire and stood naked. I opened my trunk, and took out some new underwear, flannel plaid pyjamas (grey and black), and a small black cotton t-shirt. I let my hair down. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Vivid aqua green eyes stared back at me, framed by black lashes, the same color as my hair. Lips, that would normally be pink, were as pale as my face. My eyes were very blood shot, with black circles under them, and I expect them to stay that way for a while.

I walked over to my bedside table, drank the sleepless drought, and climbed into bed. Sleep took a while to come, and all I could do was silently weep as the thoughts of my day blurred into my head. Four words kept popping up in my head; Mom, Dad, Ben, Dead. So, to try and relieve the scenes of horror in my head, I tried to replace them with some of my best memories. I closed my eyes, and forced my mind to go as blank as possible. Then, I thought of Ben.

_I had just gotten off the Hogwarts train. It was the end of my fourth year at Hogwarts, and I was going back home. Stepping off the train with my luggage, I look around for the three people I knew would be waiting for me. _

_Then through the cloud of steam created by the train, I could see them at a distance, smiling at me. Ben shouted "Rose! Rose!" and started to sprint toward me. I kneeled down on the cement, and waited for him to come. As he passed through the smoke, I opened my arms, grinning. Then with a crash, he was in my arms. I laughed out loud and said "Hey big guy! How's my favourite brother?". But he didn't respond, when I pulled back to get a closer look at his face, I saw he was crying. _

_His big grey eyes stared back at mine. "What's the matter Ben?" I asked in a gentler voice, oblivious to the people walking by. He looked down, whipped his eyes awkwardly with the back of his hands, and said "Nothing, I just miss you when you're gone" in a small voice._

I opened my eyes to the darkness of my solitary room. "I miss you to, now that your gone Ben, so much that it hurts", I say to myself as I come back to reality. I sobbed loudly for a while, but before other horrific scenes could form in my mind, I did what I did before, let my mind go blank, and thought of my Mom.

_I had been back from school for the summer. I had just finished my third year at Hogwarts. Sitting in my room, I was finally hit by the full force of my emotions. I realized how much I really missed my family when I am gone. A soft knock comes on my door, and my mom slowly opens it and pokes her head through it. She gives me one of her worried looks and sais; "Hunny, what's the matter?". _

_She steps in the room fully and closes the door behind her. I shake my head as she slowly sits on the edge of my bed. She looks at me and said "You know you can tell me anything sweetie" and places her hand on my shoulder. I look up to her grey eyes and say "I know mom, it's just that there's nothing wrong. I just really missed you guys is all" as I give her a sad smile. _

_I look back down at my comforter; it was a deep burgundy color, opposite of the green I was so used to at school. "Oh sweetie, you know we miss you just as much. But your home now for a few months, so let's has some fun." She says with a smile and she hugs me. I hug her back, and bury my face in her brown sweater and breathed in her familiar scent. Cherry blossom and soil, that's what she smelled like because she was always in her garden. _

_When I pull I look at her. She had wavy brown hair that stopped just past her shoulders. Her face had a slight tan from the sun, and she had some freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her face held nothing but compassion and happiness. She then smiles and I could see that some little wrinkles had formed at the corners of her eyes. She says "Now, come on, your father and I made your favourite for super, Pad Thai. We want to hear all you learned and did this year! Then tomorrow, your father is doing one last day at work, so we can have a girl's day! I brought chick flicks, we can do our hair…all that stuff" she said smiling like she was a teenager herself. I smile back, relieved to be home._

Tears were pouring down my cheeks and dissolving into my hair as I opened my eyes. I swear I could smell a scent of cherry blossoms and wet earth in the room…maybe it was just a very strong memory. I sighed, knowing I had one last person to remember, my Father. I closed my eyes and metaphorically dived into a third memory.

_It was a few days after my arrival at home after my fourth year. My dad and I were alone outside sitting on our lawn chairs in the backyard. It was night time, and the stars shone as bright as ever against the sea of blue in which they lay. Not a cloud could be seen, and I could see the big dipper formed in the sky. The air was warm, and had a nice breeze to it. _

_My dad had made a little fire in the fire pit. We had taken our guitars outside. He had taught me how to play when I was ten. When I was twelve, and had proven myself a worthy guitar player, they had bought me my first guitar at Christmas. Softly playing a familiar tune together, I told him things about Hogwarts that he would like. Things like Quidditch, the architecture, the ghosts and such. _

_I stopped playing to take a sip of the glass of wine he had given me, it was homemade and delicious. My mum and dad didn't care if I drank, as long as they were there, and that I was responsible about it. Suddenly, my dad looked at me and said "You know I'm so proud of you. You've accomplished so much". He looked back at the fire, and his eyes looked a little glassy. "Thanks dad, that means a lot", I say back. I didn't want to get all sappy. As he kept looking in the fire, he said "It sooths me to know that if anything happened to your mother and I, you would be well off and okay, and that you would be able to take care of Ben.". He looks back at me, smiles and resumes his playing like nothing happened. _

At last, I open my eyes as the final memory slips away on the breeze that just entered through the window. The wind is cold on my cheeks thanks to the tears that had fallen. Did my father have a feeling that something bad was going to happen? Was that why he said what he said? Guilt wash's through me, as I think of his comment about Ben. "I wasn't there to protect him dad, I didn't save my little brother, I didn't take care of him like you said I could" I whisper to myself. It seems like I'll be speaking to myself often, seeing as how the three most important people in my life are dead.

**A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter. Let it be known that I am NOT posting another chapter until I get at least 3 reviews! Like I've said before, criticism is welcome, just keep it courteous!**

**- MO**


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